Six giant inflatable humanoid figures arrived in downtown Mesa, Arizona, for their United States premier of the Fantastic Planet sculpture exhibit by Australian artist Amanda Parer.

Inspired by the 1973 science fiction animated film of the same name, these friendly figures perch on rooftops, stand tall against buildings, and crouch in the plaza, giving an impression of having just landed and “are quietly and gently exploring our ‘fantastic planet’.”

May evenings in Arizona are perfect for strolling the streets of downtown Mesa and viewing this delightful exhibit of these giant inflatable humanoid sculptures. Opening night festivities along the route included a number of performers — musicians, dancers, flame throwers — as well as an impressive display of motorcycles lining both sides of Main street.

As the sun set and twilight softly gave into a night sky, the friendly giants glowed quietly, emerging in the dark, their positions becoming more visible.

In celebration of these inflatable humanoid figures and the Fantastic Planet Sculptures exhibit, week-long activities included a showing of the original film, opportunities for drawing or painting in outdoor open-studio formats, and Yoga amid the sculptures.

Twenty Sixteen – has a sweet ring to it

Let’s enjoy it to the fullest!

Glass Sculptures grace the Denver Botanical Gardens.

A lovely display of exquisite glass sculptures by world renowned artist Dale Chihuly are dramatic and yet peaceful in Denver exhibition.

Vibrant colors, whimsical shapes — some flamboyant, some subtle — entertain, amuse, and impress visitors. The exhibition just closed, but the effect lingers in the minds, memories and photos of those fortunate enough to experience it.

It is fun to see some different sculptures in the Denver Botanical Gardens that were not in Desert Botanical Gardens exhibit in Phoenix. It is equally fun seeing familiar shapes from the Phoenix gardens in the Denver setting.

Bright pink “Dragon Fruit” is an intriguing produce that has started showing up in local grocery stores.

I saw Dragon Fruit for the first time last year. Even at the $9.99 price per pound, which seemed outrageous to me, I was intrigued.

When I saw this fruit again – in abundance – in the markets in San Francisco’s China Town (and for a much lower -more reasonable price) I decided I needed to give it a try.

This exotic fruit MIGHT be worth the price, right?! I chose a small specimen -partly to save money, but also because- I might not like it and it might not be worth the price.

It is easy to work with – peeling, scooping or dicing; and a very pretty pink to add to a salad or over yogurt etc.

Other than the bright pretty pink color, I am not impressed! The flavor is mild and nothing to sing about. The texture is something akin to a dense kiwi. In my opinion, unless it proves to have super nutritious powers, it isn’t worth adding to anything – especially at the going rate. Perhaps if the price comes down –a lot! it might be fun. . .

But here is some interesting information on this strange -looking exotic “Dragon” fruit:

It is also known as Pitaya or Pitaha. It is the fruit of several cactus species. There are three varieties: a red-skinned with pink flesh; red-skinned with white flesh and yellow-skin with white flesh.

Watermelon Slicing the right way?

Is there a wrong way?

Watermelon: Big wide wedges of red juicy slices at summertime picnics or as a refreshing treat on a hot afternoon – juice dripping down our arms and staining our faces from ear to ear. These are the images – or memories – most of us have of eating watermelon.

How to slice and serve the easy way:

With little people in my life, I have learned to cut smaller pieces of watermelon – easier for them to handle but here is a really practical way to slice and serve watermelon – easy to eat, still juicy but confined. It is almost like every slice is the delicious ‘heart’ of the melon. Great for everyone!

Instead of slicing the melon into wide wedges that inevitably get juice all over your face and chin, cut the fruit (or any other melon) in half, then slice it in a grid. That will give you evenly sized slices that each have a bit of rind at the bottom to act as a convenient handle

and they still qualify as a delicious donut! Traditional flavors such as: plain cake, chocolate sprinkles, and plain glazed (raised and cake) are also offered.

Craziness is what I call it!

How long would you wait in line for these choices?

We had heard of Voodoo Doughnuts. But when we got to Portland, we were amazed to see a seemingly never-ending line out the door and winding around the block at the downtown store….just for doughnuts! Are they really worth that wait? Having a short time to visit Portland, we decided we would for-go the Voodoo Doughnut experience and not spend precious time in line. But then . . .

We discovered a second location: Voodoo Doughnuts, Too is just a few miles out of downtown and on our way to the airport! So we stopped there and walked right in – no wait!

There is an interesting connection between Voodoo Doughnuts and Rogue Beer (see: Rogue Beer . . . and Lunch: Limited Edition Beers based on Donut flavors or is it the other way around? Our first experience with Rogue Beer was when a bubblegum pink bottle caught our eye: Maple Bacon Beer – we had to give it a try. It was surprisingly very tasty!

Let’s Eat Cake!

The challenge: Bake one cake a month. Take photos during the process or at least of the finished product. Tell us about the experience and share the photos. Then EAT the CAKE!

In a totally RANDOM drawing done on behalf of each participant by Mr. Tommy, the first round of recipes have been picked and handed out.

First up:

Yellow Layer Cake with Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting

Are you ready to eat cake? Let’s get started!

Ok – here ya go!!! I was laughing so hard during this! My helper was complaining that she couldn’t take pictures because I was making her laugh, too. It was hilarious!

I bought two sets of new cake pans to start this adventure! I have two “old” pans – don’t even know if they’re nine inch or eight inch. I needed three rounds for this cake (each split in half so I’d end up w/6 layers), and I wanted to make sure they were all the same size, etc.

The cake batter was easy to make and I thought it turned out good – fluffy and good consistency. The cakes took a little longer to bake than the recipe said, and ended up with “crispy” edges – kinda like when there’s too much butter in a chocolate chip cookie and it spreads and gets crispy (?) – so I didn’t adjust for altitude, and I think that I should’ve added more flour (live and learn)! When the cakes were cooled and I cut them in half, it seemed like the “tops” were bigger than the bottoms, but I wasn’t comfortable trimming around the edges – the cake seemed too “crumbly”.

The frosting recipe was a sour cream chocolate icing – you mix it up and let it get thicker in the fridge as it cools (recipe called for 30 minutes). Well, I let it set all afternoon and finally decided it was probably as thick as it was going to get.

So. . . I put the first layer on the cake stand, topped it with the icing, smoothed it to the edge, put the second layer on, topped it with icing, smoothed it to the edge, then the third, etc., etc. By the time I got to the fifth layer, things were obviously off-kilter and leaning towards one side. I tried to smoosh everything back to the other side without making too much of a mess – there was a little movement in the right direction, but obviously not enough. I went ahead and put the final layers on and noticed how uneven the layers were (as in, the edges of the layers were radically not even). I thought I was being careful when placing the cake layers on each time, but I think the spreading of the icing created movement that made everything crooked. The picture on the recipe doesn’t have the sides of the cake frosted, but I had lots of extra frosting, and thought that maybe I could hide some of the unevenness if I threw some frosting on the side (obviously not!).

Then there was more movement and I hollered that we needed to cut a piece quick! and get it on a plate. We grabbed a dessert plate and cut a slice and rushed to get a picture of the inside of the cake on the stand.

Then while we were taking a picture of the slice on the plate, the whole cake just started cracking and sliding so I grabbed a cookie sheet for it to fall on – it was hysterical at this point – a slow (but kinda quick as it gathered momentum) mudslide.

Wow. I think the frosting was too “slick” – maybe more powdered sugar? But I didn’t want to mess with it too much when I was making it – the picture looked like it was very glossy and not too thick with powdered sugar. Now I know!

None of us were big fans of the taste of the cake, either. I’ll get the “boys” opinions tonight. – It had a tang or sourness that’s a little unpleasant. Which is surprising to me, because I love tangy/sour things – I love buttermilk and sour cream. But, not so much in this recipe! What a way to start the cake challenge! Geesh!

OMG! It was fun though, and I enjoyed the experience, and the girls and I got a good laugh! 🙂

It’s OK if you start with the epic failure – we can only get better from here! By the way, neither of the “boys” liked the taste of the cake either – both cut a large-ish slice and neither finished. It looks like it should be good – it’s just not. 🙁

Great Food, Fun Places, and Fun Times in Portland

Arriving in Portland mid-day, we drove downtown – for Fun – just to be downtown and get some lunch before heading to the suburbs.

We wandered around the Pearl District, enjoying a beautiful Oregon day of sunshine and fresh air (the locals were flocking downtown, in joyous celebration). There are lots of choices for lunch but what to choose?

Then we saw the Rogue Beer banners and discovered we were in “the heart of Portland’s Historic Brewing District in the Pearl” at the Rogue Ales Distillery and Public House.

Featuring outside seating – a requirement for our meal with this perfect weather – a menu with several intriguing options for lunch, and Rogue Beers — we took a seat!